So I'm such a stinker because I promised ChedderCheeseLover21 this days ago so I'm dreadfully sorry my dear. ;) Please accept my sincerest apologies yada yada yada forgive me already! D'X

Thank you to all that commented, Favorited, Alerted and simply read my story and liked it. It all means a great deal. So it seems that you guys want me to continue so that's just what I'll do. :)

Now someone was concerned that I was going to make Charlie into a bad guy, which is not the case at all. I've a similar situation happen to me when I flew into an airport. I wasn't exactly forgotten about but there was a lack of clear communication between both parties and was made difficult by the guy that was picking me up lied about where he was going to be because he was late. So no, that doesn't necessarily make him a bad guy but it does make him human. And humans make mistakes. Making mistakes doesn't make you a villain or a bad person but sometimes people fuck up and they need to be reminded that what they did was wrong or given a good bonk on the forehead or...whatever. So again, I say, no, Charlie isn't the bad guy here. I happen to love Charlie. He's just a little scatter brained in my story. ;)

As a side note: My Rosalie will be played by Dianna Agron. I thought she would make a perfect Rosalie so yeah. Keep that in mind if you can.

Enjoy!


Bella's POV:

Mia clung to my leg as we waited outside. My fingers drummed anxiously as I took a look around in hopes of distracting myself as I waited for those unknown seconds to tick away.

Change sucks, I finally decided. Like, really sucked. Especially if it looks like this place.

This is so not my ideal vacation spot but whatever.

"Bella?"

My head jerked around so fast I think I broke something. Ow. Yeah. Okay ow. Careful with the swiveling!

I rubbed my sore neck as I peered up at my estranged father.

"Hey…Charlie."

He offered me a soft smile and stepped to the side to let us in. Mia held tightly to my calf as we made our way into the warm house. I rubbed her scalp soothingly as we walked.

"You can put your coats anywhere."

"Thanks." I helped Mia out of her jacket. "Mee, go play in the other room while me and Charlie have a little chat, okay?"

"Kay!" We watched as she skipped into the other room but thankfully the doorless archway didn't keep her out of my sights.

I turned on him. "Why didn't you pick us up?" I asked bluntly.

"Uh well I –"

"I had to hitch a ride with a perfect stranger so that we could get here. Good thing it was one of the decent ones and not a total psycho." I tried to keep the anger out of my voice, really I did, but it was no use as it leaked out more and more at every word uttered.

He chewed on his lip. "I had asked a friend of mine to come pick you up. You remember Billy's kid, Ja –"

"I don't care about your excuses." I spat harshly, all my pent up energy beginning to burst out of my pores. I needed a run, a cigarette. Something. I sighed, noticing Charlie's distraught expression and shuffling feet, I softened my features and spoke with a much kinder disposition. "I just want to know why you didn't call if you couldn't make it. I honestly thought I was going to be stuck there. That we were going to be stuck there."

He flinched at the thought and had the decency to look ashamed.

A heavy silence hung between us as I stared him down, my eyes narrowing once he looked away from me. I wanted honesty in this conversation and it doesn't look like he was giving it to me. "I called your cell." he finally said.

My jaw clenched at the lie, my newly softened edges around this whole conversation began prickling again. "Um no you didn't Charlie. But I called yours…twiceactually, and your house phone." I chuckled then, my tone completely devoid of warmth. "Imagine my utter surprise when I got your voicemail."

I knew it wasn't right. Taking my anger out on Charlie, I was already irritated to begin with; even before we landed on evergreen soil. I had been dreading this moment. What I would say, what I would do once I was alone in a room with him. I didn't want to have to talk to a father I barely knew and live with him for an extended amount of time. I didn't like being thrown out of my comfort zone. I didn't like cold, wet places. And I didn't like not knowing the man standing in front of me. Images, blurred faces swirled in the back of my brain but nothing was concrete. Nothing was substantial. And again I wonder what I was doing here. My only goal is to scrounge up enough money so Mia and I could find somewhere in the world for us. So I can find a home for her. Though I was grateful to Charlie - really I was. I doubt me being here is easy for him either but it doesn't change the fact that I would rather be somewhere else. Somewhere warm (preferably – in the literal sense and the metaphorical) and that was ours. Though I'm sure coming in here and laying on the guilt trip pretty heavily won't make my temporary stay here at all bearable for either of us. And I needed to make being here okay for Mia. She was the innocent in all of this. She doesn't know him, this place, these walls. She needs for me to feel like this place is safe and okay. She can't know that being in my old home terrified me and set my back teeth on edge. So …suck it up.

I closed my eyes. I decided then that arguing about this and poking and kicking the guilty man when he was down wasn't going to change how we all got to this point. It was done. Moving on. Rolling my shoulders back and popping the added stress from this whole ordeal out of my neck, I looked at him.

"Bells I'm really sorry about what ha –"

I held my hand up to stop his apology. God. You're such a dick Bella. The poor guy looks like he's gonna cry.

"I'm sorry about snapping at you like that. I didn't mean to act like I was going to literally snap your neck without a moment's notice." I winced. "Sorry."

He chuckled, somewhat nervously and nodded. "I deserve it. I should have called or texted. I didn't even think of that, actually." His face falls. "I'm still getting used to this stupid touch phone that half the time I don't even bother. But for you, I will." He looks in my eyes honestly. "For you and Mia, I will." He adds passionately and I was immediately sold.

"That's all I ask." I said softly and gave him a small smile. He smiled back. "I better get Mia situated. She's probably freaking out and twirling in circles trying to figure out where she is."

She's an odd duck. But my odd duck.

"Probably right." He scratches the back of his neck "I'm…I'm glad that we could talk this out."

I smile softly. "Me too." I left the kitchen in search of Mia.

It took an hour to get fully situated. The bags, well Mia's bags anyway, were unpacked and put in the proper drawers and hung in the closet. I kinda just chucked my shit near my bed and figured I'd grab something when I needed it. Mia's stuff was structured but I didn't really care where my stuff went. Plus I was pretty beat and I still had a lot to do before tomorrow.

"Um Bella…will you come down here? There's something I wanna show ya."

"Yeah I'll be down in a sec." I hollered through the opened door of Mia's new room. Mia sent me a raised eyebrow that pretty much said, "Wonder what's that all about"

I shrugged and zipped up her jacket. I was planning on asking Charlie for a lift to the grocery store.

"What's up Charlie?"

"Follow me." He ordered softly. We walked outside.

He lead me out to what I'm assuming, and this is just a wild guess, but what looked like a car. But of course there was a big question mark hanging over both Mia's and I's heads as we stared at the tarp covered mystery.

"What's going on Charlie?" I asked even though I had a pretty good idea.

"I got you something. Well I got you both something if you think about it." He smiled shyly and grabbed a hold of the fabric and unveiled the mystery in one quick woosh!

My eyes widened. Of course I knew it was a car but for some reason I wasn't expecting a fairly new car. Huh. Weird.

Stood before me was a black SUV. "I wanted you both to have something. I didn't want you to be stranded everywhere you went." I chuckled at that. "So this way you'll be able to get to school and take Mia around for joy rides or…whatever."

"What type of car is it?" I asked curiously. Mia's eyes sparkled as she walked around the car in circles.

"Well the guy at the dealership was going on and on about transmission and mileage and so on and so forth so the only thing I made sure to remember was the make. It's a 2007 GLS trim Hyundai Santa Fe SUV." He made a show of taking a deep breath and I giggled.

"Good thing for that." I joked. He grinned.

"It's won a bunch of awards or something." He said with a few scratches to the back of his head. "The guy said it was the Top Safety Pick for something or something and uh…oh God…I'm not selling this at all, am I?" He panicked.

At that moment I did something that surprised both of us. I hugged him. Like, really hugged my father. I was so grateful and so happy that he would not only think about me, but buy a car that was geared for Mia too and that meant a hell of a lot. Mom didn't even buy us a car. Not that I was expecting one but knowing her, God bless her, I doubt she would have put much thought into what to get. She'd most likely pick the one that was really pretty and be done with it. So this meant everything. Don't cry damn you!

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." He hugged back.


.oOo.


Charlie smiled as he watched Bella walk back into the house and shook his head at how surreal this all was. He still couldn't believe how much his own little girl wasn't so little anymore. She was a woman now. The thought of how much time had passed since he last saw her really hit home. He had missed so much. He had missed her.

He promised himself then and there, that that wouldn't be the case with Mia. She deserved to have the people in her life be a constant fixture and by golly that's what he would be. If Bella would let him anyway.

Fifteen minutes later Charlie was handing Bella the keys to her new ride. She smiled and practically skipped to the vehicle. The car seat, to Bella's astonishment, was already hooked in, Charlie must have done that while Bella was still unpacking. Bella grinned and buckled Mia in.

The GPS, thankfully, was already programmed to show her where everything was. Bella inputted [SHOPPING] and found instantly where the super market was. She felt so techy!

Both girls perused the aisles for while, getting acquainted with where everything was. Bella was examining a package of 'Chicken in a Biskit' when an elderly woman with silver hair walked by and stopped right next to her cart.

"Well aren't you just the most precious thing." The older woman cooed as she bent down a little to smile at the girl in the plastic seat. Mia's eyebrow quirked at the unfamiliar woman and leant a little away from her.

"Thank you." Bella said hoping to draw her attention away from the little girl. Mia wasn't too huge on being so close to strangers. Which is a good thing, Bella would suppose, if that stranger turned out to not be the friendliest. But it did make things difficult when Bella needed a babysitter and Mia ended up playing 'I'll hide and you scream into a panic because you can't find me' all night long until Bella got home. It kinda took her awhile to get used to you.

"Is she yours?" The woman looked up at her.

No I found her in the lost and found bin. Bella thought sarcastically.

Bella swallowed what would have been her automatic response to a question like that and said, "No. She's my sister."

The woman looked shocked but she composed herself quickly.

"Oh well she looks just like you."

Bella's jaw clenched. "Yeah I get that a lot." Her cheeks burned.

"How old is she?"

"Three." Was Bella's answer.

"Well she's a beautiful girl."

Bella smiled politely. "Thank you."

The woman tilted her head. "Hmm and she has her mother's eyes." She said almost like she was remarking to herself or commenting on the weather. Bella's head jerked at the woman.

"What'd you say?"

But the woman didn't respond as she smiled again at the little girl in the cart and walked away without a backwards glance. Bella watched as she turned the corner into a different aisle. She shook her head of the weird incident and looked at Mia.

"She was odd huh Mimi?"

Mia nodded agreeing full heartedly. Bella smiled at the little girl's answer and picked up a package of sugar cookies, making a show of putting them in the cart. Mia's face brightened and she grinned widely.

"Thought you might like that. But I'm putting it on the high shelf this time." Bella said, giving the girl a look.

Mia smiled impishly. The older brunette shook her head at the mischievous twinkle in those chocolate browns and pushed her cart forward.

"On second thought," Bella drawled. Mia's lips turned downwards. "Maybe I should hide them." Bella pretended to deliberate over this.

Like in the attic.

Mia shook her head emphatically, not liking the idea at all. It was a horrible idea if you asked her. Which, of course, no one did.

It still surprised Bella how much this little girl understood. She was still so very young and yet she grasped the other end of their conversations easily. Which shocked and astounded most, if not all people. Bella simply got used to it. Well, until she shocked her with something else mind boggling for a child of her age. So Bella shrugged and went along with it as the days went by and the little girl before her got bigger and even cleverer.

She's going to be a handful when she gets older. I just know it. My little troublemaker.

"You're going to be a stinker when you're a smelly old teenager, aren't you?"

Mia simply smiled. Bella figured that was a 'yes' and shook her head again and spoke to the sky.

"God help me."

Mia giggled and covered Bella's hand with her smaller one.

"I wuv you." They were still working on the 'l' sound.

Bella smiled warmly. "And I love you." She kissed her head and then her ear and nuzzled it with her nose, making the little girl shriek with laughter. Bella pulled back and narrowed her eyes playfully at her. "But you're still a stinker."

After a pass through the frozen food aisle later and a diva sized tantrum over getting ice cream and making the little girl understand that she already had sugar cookies and threatening her that she would get nothing if she kept this up and got any louder (which silenced her immediately - go figure), they were done shopping and were making their way over to the register.

"That'll be $116.47. Would you like to use a coupon?" Bella shook her head and pulled out the hundred that Charlie gave her to buy groceries and the difference from her own wallet. The young man took her money and went about getting her change while the man on the other side of her bagged her groceries.

"Glad that's done and over with." Bella mumbled as she finished unloading the last of the groceries into the cupboard. They had finally made it back to Charlie's, well their house now, and had only got turned around once since Bella was still getting used to the town's layout. "We got breakfast for tomorrow. We got daycare for you sorted out and all I have to do is get my schedule from the office tomorrow at school." Bella sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. "Yay. School." She groaned and slid down the wall. Mia crawled over to her and sat on her lap. The older brunette glanced down at the smaller one in her arms. "Things'll be better here Mimi. You'll see."

Mia nodded and snuggled deeper into Bella's arms.

Bella yawned. They sat there for a few minutes, seeking comfort and familiarity in each other's warmth. It had been a long day and the next day was sure to be longer.


.oOo.


Bella's POV:

I think I fell out of bed but I can't be sure because I'm half dead...hey that rhymed. Cool. So yeah I beat the ever loving crap out of my new alarm clock and didn't stop smacking the thing until it clattered onto the floor. I yanked the cord out of the wall for good measure and calmly laid back down.

Stupid school…

…and with that thought seared in my brain for the rest of the morning and probably all the way through lunch and after - depending on how the day went - I set out on getting ready for the day.

I rifled through what little I brought with me and decided on my thin white v-neck shirt with the swirly black pattern on the front, my thin gray hoodie, and my slim fit jacket over it. I jumped into my torn dark skinnies with the little rips up my thigh and a hole in my right knee and my old chucks, which I'm hoping will last me till I could get some new ones. Hopefully they won't fall apart till then, given that it rains here so much. I wasn't used to the weather here in Forks and neither was my wardrobe. Everything I own was light wear and my warmer options consisted of either a hoodie or an old long sleeve shirt whose lower sleeves has seen better days because I constantly rolled them up when I got hot. I owned two pairs of jeans, both of which I brought with me, and the rest were shorts with variations of length. Though it pained me to say it, shopping was a must in the near future. Especially for little Mia. Thankfully, Mom bought her a huge puffy jacket - which makes her look like the cutest purple marshmallow ever! - and a few light jackets and long sleeves before we left. I was too stressed about leaving to have any foresight of what would be appropriate to wear once I got to Washington. Plus I was running low on funds so it's not like I would have been able to get a whole wardrobe. Maybe a shirt and a new pair of pants, possibly a pretty scarf and mitten combo. But everything else was for Mia.

Mom said she was in the process of mailing our stuff so that Mia would have the rest of her clothes, but given the fact that this is my mother we're talking about, who knew how long that would be.

I styled my hair no different than I usually do it, with a quick brush through and some leave in spray to make it not frizz. I threaded my fingers through it then shook it out a little to give it a little body but not make it seem chaotic. I put a little bit of eyeliner on and then brushed my teeth and then I was ready.

Time to get little Ms. Cranky-Pants up. I smiled at the fitting name and made my way into Mia's room. I flicked on the light.

"Hey Mimi time to get u- oh. You're up." The little girl looked at me excitedly like she usually did when she hadn't seen me in awhile. I walked over to the crib. "What's the matter baby? Couldn't sleep?"

The little girl shook her head. I frowned at this thinking it must be because we're in such a new environment and she's not used to it. I picked her up and set her on the changing table that Charlie had bought for us and changed her pull-up and her clothes. "Such a cute little marshmallow." I cooed, pinching her cheeks gently. Mia scrunched her face up adorably and gave her three year old version of a death glare, her cheeks puffed out and her lips pursed. I awed at her and picked her up, pecking her on the cheek, and earning me a smile.

Yes!

"Come on let's see what delicious things we can fill that tummy with." I gently poked her in the tummy and she giggled. "I was thinking waffles. What do you think?

Her eyes looked up as she thought about it for a moment before shaking her head.

"No? Well what about oatmeal?"

Mia looked like she wanted to gag and I rolled my eyes. So dramatic. She was like my mother.

God help me.

"What about a banana and cereal?"

Mia shrugged and leaned into me, resting her head on my shoulder.

I smiled warmly as Mia snuggled into the crook of my neck. "I'll take that as a maybe." I chuckled as I carefully descended the stairs.

Mia ate like a little pig, like usual, and scarfed her banana in three bites. I swear that kid is going to choke one day, though she wouldn't listen to me when I told her so. Once I dropped her off at the daycare center, I finally found the right road to turn on to get to the school. It looked like I was the first one here. Thank God. There wasn't a car in sight other than mine and the ones in staff parking. I found a spot and parked. I slung my bag over my shoulder and got out. Getting my schedule was my first priority. I finally found the building I was looking for and zeroed in on it. Getting there was practically my mission in life. Way I see it the only thing I needed to worry about after that was not getting lost while I tried to find my classes and not tripping over air too much in the process. First impressions and all.

Opening one of the double doors that lead me to where I needed to be, I made my way up to the counter where a middle aged plump woman was sitting behind her paperwork. She hadn't even picked up her head so I'm guessing that she still hadn't realized I was there. I could have been a ravenous cougar and she wouldn't have been the wiser.

I stood at the counter for a good minute before I finally got impatient and cleared my throat. The poor woman jumped in her seat - don't giggle! –and shuffled the already meticulous stack of papers.

"Oh sorry. Hello. Was there something I could do for you?"

"Um yes. My name is Isabella Swan. I'm a new student here. I was told to come here and get my schedule."

"Oh!" She jumped into action – sort of –and grabbed a small packet of papers and handed them to me.

"This is for you," No really? "You need to make sure each of your teachers signs this slip and then hand it back to me at the end of the day. Alrighty?"

Alrighty.

I nodded and thanked her.

I was still the only one in the lot it seems once I left the office. I walked over to my car and got in, immediately cranking up the heat and sat back as I looked over my schedule. I had just finished memorizing my schedule when I noticed at the corner of my eye a white Jeep pull up at the spot two car spaces over from mine…

…no way.

My schedule lay forgotten in my lap as I turned all my attention to the driver of the Jeep.

No. Way.

I grabbed my schedule and mindlessly got out of the car.

No. Fucking. Way!

I smiled hugely as I watched a tall muscled figure jump out of the driver's side and land gracefully on the ground. A few seconds later a silver Volvo entered the parking lot and parked on the other side of the Jeep.

"Emmett?" I whispered. I hadn't even realized I had said it until said person was grinning in my direction.

His eyes lit up as he jogged over to me. I saw him and - without thinking - launched into his strong arms. He didn't seem to mind at all as he hugged me tightly but gently.

"Oh my God!"

"Hey Bells!" He twirled me around.

"Oh my God."

"You already said that." He chuckled.

"Yeah I know but…oh my God!"

"Its Emmett actually but close enough." He said as he put me back down. I chuckled, too astonished to really take into account how lame his jokes were.

"I can't believe you're here."

"I told you I lived here." He said like it was obvious information, which it was but- oh my God! Shut up I was happy.

"Yeah I know but I can't believe we go to the same school. I seriously thought you were in college or something." He looked 24 but that childish grin shaved away those years considerably.

He smiled widely clearly amused. "Nope still a youngen, well for the next few months anyway."

"Senior?"

He nodded.

"Sweet. Me too."

His smile grew and he held out his hand. "Let me see your schedule. Hopefully we have class together." I handed him the folded paper and he unfurled it and looked it over.

"Hell yeah!" I grinned at his enthusiasm. Good news I take it. "We got two classes together. This is going to be awesome!"

"Great. At least I'll know someone there." I took back the paper and pocketed it.

"Yeah and-"

"Emmett. Aren't you going to introduce me to your lovely friend?"

We looked over Emmett's shoulder and I swear my heart stopped and I felt all power to my brain shutdown, the wiring disconnecting with a low whine.

...wow.


Okay so I'm still unsure of what I'm going to do with this story. I have a few ideas but nothing concrete. So feedback would be nice. Also I'm thinking that there maybe, being somewhat of a love triangle with Bella, Alice, and Rosalie. What would you say to that? Thought it would be interesting to see how Rosalie dealt with Bella caring for Mia. Would she envy her or admire her and maybe feel a little bit more for her. Again. Nothing is set in stone so I haven't ruined anything for you. I hope. ;) SO! Tell me what you thought/think/feel/hate(nicely or at least constructively) and let me know. Thanks guys!

- Lil' Miss